Italian full-back/ winger Ange Capuozzo played as the replacement scrum-half for Toulouse in their defeat to La Rochelle and did not look out of place one bit.
It has raised the question as to whether he should be Antoine Dupont’s understudy in this position, which would give Toulouse a six-two bench split with no specialist nine, adding even more versatility off the bench.
The reason that this is important is because it may encourage other coaches to try it out and comes at a time when new laws have been implemented to protect the scrum-half from being tackled after a ruck or a maul.
With a Premiership flanker playing on the wing this weekend, is versatility the new key attribute for rugby players?
Rule changes and Premiership impact
It could signal the start of an era in the game where the technical quality of a number nine is expendable in exchange for faster players, effectively making it an extension of fly-half.
The law changes have meant that physical attributes are now much less desirable due to the increased protection, so it is feasible that more and more backs could now end up being called upon at nine.
With more space for box kicks and passes, having razor-sharp technical skills are also going to be needed less and while they are a positive thing for a player to have, being fast seems to be the new ideal mould.
Someone like Raffi Quirke for Sale Sharks suits the new role perfectly as he may be a scrum-half by trade but he has also been tried out across the backline due to his pace.
Players like Ben Spencer may end up being less utilised, as he can only play in one position due to limitations with his speed.
This weekend, Bath flanker Josh Bayliss spent 60 minutes on the wing in their narrow defeat to Northampton Saints, which again adds to the versatility question and suggests that even forwards could become utility players.
Bayliss was forced there after an injury crisis but didn’t play badly, so people wanting forwards-heavy benches may have another reason to believe that it is the way forward.
Why Toulouse did it
Once seen as a specialist position, Toulouse have asked questions as to whether scrum-half is specialist anymore and other teams could follow suit should they believe otherwise.
Antoine Dupont has played 80 minutes in plenty of games so far this season and specialist Paul Graou has been left on the bench as a spot that only covers one position.
As solid as Graou is, his lack of versatility means that Toulouse must sacrifice a forward replacement to compensate for more positions in the backs.
If Capuozzo was to replace Graou on the bench, he covers pretty much every position from nine to 15 which means that it frees up an extra spot.
This extra spot would probably be covered by someone in the backline, but it offers a potential extra forward spot, leading to a seven-one split.
The impact on benches
Rassie Erasmus revolutionised the six-two bench split and even introduced the seven-one split, but Toulouse have possibly taken a step into the complete unknown and could change the game even more.
The more forwards on the bench, the more a team can outmuscle their opposition throughout the game, as it gives the option of fresh bodies at all times.
Six-two has done this enough but a world where a team adds yet another forward could signal a new age of a ‘Nuclear squad’ as opposed to the ‘Bomb squad’ of South Africa currently.
A six-two split with two out and out backs is a scary prospect to come up against, creating a situation whereby anyone can play anywhere in the last seven positions.
MORE FROM CHARLIE ELLIOTT: 2025 Predictions – More Antoine Dupont dominance and the British & Irish Lions to win down under
